Konami Code Helps Debut New Canadian Banknote

By
Tom Brant12 Apr 2017, 10:22 a.m.

The legendary easter egg, which first appeared in video games during the 1980s, offers a patriotic surprise to visitors of a site promoting Canada's new banknote.

Central banks are better known for managing inflation by controlling the money supply than for their sense of humor. That's apparently not the case with the Bank of Canada, though, which used a 1980s video game easter egg to help unveil a new banknote this week.

The bank created a website to show off the new 10 Canadian dollar note, which celebrates the 150th anniversary of the act of consolidation that created the modern version of America's northern neighbor. As CTV News pointed out, there's a hidden easter egg that visitors to the site can activate to start playing the Canadian national anthem and see confetti fall.

The activation code is a series of ten keystrokes identical to a cheat present in many video games from the Japanese studio Konami. When a player spotted the Konami logo on a game's loading screen, entering the code would unlock a set of bonuses for a number of the company's earlier titles, including Contra for the original Nintendo Entertainment System.

"The Bank of Canada's web team thought the Konami code was a fun way to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation," a spokeswoman told CTV. To try it out for yourself, visit the commemorative website and enter the following keystrokes: ↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right on the cursor keys), then "B" and "A."

The Konami code has appeared in Easter eggs countless times since its debut on Nintendo games, entering internet lore as a way for software engineers to pay homage to the geeks who have come before them. Google included the code on its Pixel Chromebook, which would prompt the notebook to perform a light show with the strip of LED lights on the top of the device.

The Konami code has also been used for more nefarious—but still humorous—purposes: when the Anonymous hacking group breached several US court system websites in 2013, it left behind an overlay of an Asteroids game that would appear when the code was activated.

About the Author

Tom is PCMag's San Francisco-based news reporter. He got his start in technology journalism by reviewing the latest hard drives, keyboards, and much more for PCMag's sister site, Computer Shopper. As a freelancer, he's written on topics as diverse as Borneo's rain forests, Middle Eastern airlines, and big data's role in presidential elections. A graduate of Middlebury College, Tom also has a master's journalism degree from New York University. Follow him on Twitter @branttom. See Full Bio